The soon-to-be owners of the Butterball properties in Longmont said Tuesday that they plan to knock down the plant at 150 Main St. and build a 250-unit apartment complex, similar in manner to the new Roosevelt Park Apartments that opened earlier this year.

"There's a shortage of rental options in Longmont, especially urban class A," said Brian Bair, a representative of the development group 150 Main LLC. "Other than Roosevelt Park, it doesn't exist. And to be connected to downtown walkability is very attractive."

The group's first phase also plans to convert the nearby sites at 220 Kimbark St. and 204 Emery St. into a 40,000 square foot commercial area, pursuing urban wineries, craft brewers, artisan food businesses and office space for the sites.

On Tuesday night, Bair told the City Council that 150 Main wanted some city assistance, including fee waivers, water and sewer credits, and help with the cost of demolishing and cleaning up the plant. Since the development would include living space, the company also urged the city to adopt a "quiet zone" for the First and Main area, to reduce train noise.

"There's a lot of risk here for redevelopment," Bair said, adding that the area had a poor public perception, low rents, and nearby storage and industrial properties in addition to the train noise.

The company has a contract to buy the seven Butterball properties for $4.5 million, with a closing date of Aug. 1. Bair said demolition of the turkey plant could begin this fall.

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Later phases may include office space over retail at 121 Main St., more apartments at 110 Collyer St. and either apartments, single-family housing, or even a commercial campus or similar use at 301 First Ave.

The seventh property, 1025 E. 1st Ave., is a small sliver that would be part of the work at the turkey plant, Bair said. All together, he said, the whole project could add 400 more residential units to the city.

"I just pray it all comes together," Councilman Brian Bagley said. "The city needs something like this."

Butterball closed the Longmont turkey plant in 2011 and put it on the market in the summer of 2012.

In January 2013, the City Council changed the area from an industrial zone to a "mixed use" one. That zoning doesn't fit another food processor but it does suit the sort of combined residential and commercial development that 150 Main LLC wants to pursue.

Butterball sued the city over the zoning change, claiming the company's due process rights were violated. The impending sale pushed the trial from April to September.

The Butterball land is within the Longmont Downtown Development Authority and is also in a city urban renewal district.

All together, the seven Butterball properties being purchased by 150 Main come to 27 acres. The proposed Phase 1 covers 6.5 acres of that.

Council members liked their first look at the proposal, though Councilwoman Sarah Levison said she wanted to look carefully at the phasing and that she'd like to see a distinct look to the apartments.

"It looks very much like the Roosevelt Park Apartments," she said. "I'd like to see something in the design that has a Longmont touch to it."

David Starnes, Longmont's economic redevelopment manager, said the proposal fits in with the city's plans to redevelop the First and Main area over the next 20 to 25 years. That includes infrastructure work such as plans to extend Boston Avenue to Martin Street, and to open up the often-bottlenecked intersection at Main Street and Ken Pratt Boulevard.

Bair praised the plans, saying they were part of what a "catalyst project" like his would need to take off.

"One project in the area doesn't make a transition," he said. "It has to be a series of things that comes together."

Two downtown business owners — Chris McGilvray of Longmont Liquors and Clara White of Cheese Importers — urged the City Council to give the plans their full support.

"At one point, this area was once a thriving industrial area. And by 'once,' I mean 50 years ago," McGilvray said. He said the 150 Main plans would revive what had become a largely dead area since Butterball's closing.

"The city of Longmont needs to give 100 percent support," he said. "Ninety-nine percent support with an ounce of hesitation is not enough."

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